ORIGINAL: Sylvan
Let me tell you why I am often skeptical of the forensic ability of some hunters. A cousin of mine told me a story of a buck he had shot through the heart with a 12 gauge slug. He told me he tracked the deer for several hundred yards and jumped him several times before finally finding him dead. He told me the slug had "puverized" the heart turning it into "jelly".I was of course skeptical and found it a mystery how a deer could go so far with a smashed heart. Years later I killed a buck with my 12 gauge and after hearing the shot my cousin came over to my stand. As I was gutting the deer he exclaimed "look at that" you smashed the heart into jelly". He was refering to the thick coagulated blood that often comes out of the chest cavity in a Jelly like consistence. Mystery solved.
I'm with you on both of your latest posts, and also the one concerning responsbility. I toowonder aboutthe forensics of some hunters. A good friend of mine butchers deer during thefirearms seasonsonly, and the first day of PA gun season is my favorite day to pay him a visit, whether I have a deer or not. Some of the "field dressing" jobs are down right pathetic. Every year, the same "long time" hunter rolls in with a deer that he blew the heart out of at 400 yards. And every year when he leaves, my buddy and I roll the carcass over, pull the hide apart at the stomach, only to see the diaphragm, heart and lungs.........
still inside the deer. The bullet holes are usually scattered through the hind quarters, high shoulders/spine and stomach/intestines. He has 2 or 3 regular hunters that bring deer like this every year. Examining a pile of entrails and organs teaches you a ton about dropping a deer with an arrow, some people don't do it enough.